Palestinian groups in deal on pull-out

THE militant group Hamas yesterday agreed to co-operate with the Palestinian Authority in ensuring a smooth transition during the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

The agreement eased concerns over the potential for violence during the operation. But Hamas rejected a demand by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that it forgo military-style victory celebrations during the pull-out, and reiterated it would not disarm.

Israeli and Palestinian officials, meanwhile, said they would set up a joint operations centre to monitor the pull-out, which is expected to take several weeks.

Beginning on Wednesday, Israel plans to uproot all 21 Jewish settlements in Gaza, ending 38 years of control over the area, along with four small enclaves in the West Bank.

Israeli and Palestinian officials hope the operation will go smoothly, but worry about violence by Islamic militants as well as Jewish hardliners who oppose the pull-out.

Tens of thousands of opponents of Israel’s pull-out gathered in downtown Tel Aviv yesterday evening for their last large-scale demonstration before the withdrawal is to begin.

The demonstrators filled the square in front of Tel Aviv city hall, named after Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was gunned down there after a peace rally in 1995. Protesters carried signs criticising Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, architect of the pull-out.

The theme of the demonstration was “Gush Katif and Samaria, I pledge [allegiance],” a slogan painted in black on an orange background on many of the signs in the crowd. Orange is the colour adopted by the protesters to symbolise their struggle against the pull-out.

Gush Katif is the main block of settlements in Gaza, and Samaria refers to the northern West Bank, where four settlements are to be removed in the government’s “disengagement” plan.

The ruling Palestinian Fatah movement and Hamas have been battling over who should get credit for the withdrawal, with Hamas citing its repeated attacks on Israeli targets over the past five years. While the militant group enjoys widespread support in Gaza, Mr Abbas’s Palestinian Authority could gain ground if it succeeds in easing travel restrictions for fenced-in Gazans and creating jobs in the impoverished area.

Hamas also fears Fatah officials might take over abandoned Jewish settlements for personal gain, and tensions erupted into clashes between the two sides in mid-July, leaving two people dead.

The agreement to work together was reached Tuesday in meetings between Abbas and senior Hamas officials, Hamas spokesperson Mushir al-Masri said. It was confirmed by prominent Fatah leader Samir Masharawi in a Voice of Palestine Radio interview.